Working on a Table & Chairs for a friend

One day I was at my girl friends house having a coffee and she had informed me that she was going to look to buy a new table & chairs in black as her set was so scuffed up and looking old...and I said "why buy a new table, why not just paint this"...and I offered to help her as she has never painted anything like this before. My friend Natalie had this kitchen table and chairs. We bought Annie Sloan paint in "Graphyte" which is more a charcoal colour than black. Hoping that the dark wax will make it darker we started painting the chairs.

There are 6 chairs in total.

I really hope she likes it. We had a bunch of little helpers today too, her daughters helped us today as well. It was a family affair which made it very special because as they sit around the table they will always remember that they helped mommy restore their table.




So we painted the tables and chairs and they were coming out great but Natalie was wishing it was not so grey but more black so I ran right down to Walmart and bought some acrylic black paint and made a new mix on the fly and this is what it went from grey to black.

This is the graphyte color. 

Graphyte color - a bit of a duller grey than what Natalie wanted.

So we added some black and this is the result...the last thing to do will be add the dark wax and we will be all done.

I will post the end result next week as we still have a bit more work to do on the wax but I am glad she is happy with how it is turning out.

I am very impressed with the annie sloan paint and that I was successfully able to mix in an acrylic paint and it worked out great. This paint is the easiest paint to use. I love it.

So we got the dark wax on the table today, the chairs still have to get their coat but it was fun distressing everything. Can't wait to take the final end picture to show you all. Loving the wax on the table and how rich and deep it is coming out like. It has a new life, a new personality.

Perfect example of an older table that is in perfect condition, great wood but was a bit worn and now it has a great new updated look.

Fun times to be had by all....

Things I have found that will make creating much more fun.

My first discovery with painting was

Yes Mod Podge....this stuff is AWESOME

Big tip - make sure you invest in a wall paper applier. It is a flat tool that you use to smooth out wallpaper. This tool saved me so much time and help smooth out the bubbles that form.

A good idea is let the glue get a bit tacky before you lay down your paper, it will stick better and slowly put the paper down using the tool to help smooth it as it goes down. - If it is a flat surface, put a book or something heavy on top for a good hour or two to weigh it down, this will help keep the bubbles from forming.

My next discovery is.... Annie Sloan Chalk Paint & wax

I can't wait to get started on my next project and use this stuff. The reviews on the paint are beyond awesome so I am expecting great results on using it. I will keep you posted on what I think.
There is only one store in all of Edmonton that carries this paint www.appleboxboutique.ca
So if you are from Edmonton or surrounding area check this small quaint place out.

With this paint all you need is 1 to 2 coats max. the coverage is suppose to be smooth and goes on thick...you can actually thin this paint out with plain old water, you can mix different annie sloan paints together to get a new colour and it is suppose to not be murky but be crisp.
The paint is a bit expensive @ 51.95 a can of paint, if you want to make any sort of profit on your items..you must choose carefully on what you are wanting to paint with this. A 20.00 piece of chipped or broken furniture that you can only sell for 20.00 or less is not going to cut it, but a 5 dollar old school desk that is in perfect condition will yield a good profit and you will have paint left over for another project to sell.